No new lessons for today, but some great news. From the powers above, there are going to be over three hundred dollars in prizes for the upcoming contest! Hopefully the game will be fun, but now you actually have reasons to win. It's only a few weeks away, so sign up while you can!

To sign up for Sock 2, send an e-mail to slimey@rpgamer.com indicating your interest. Unlike the first competition, ALL Sock 2-related e-mail will go to that account- so make sure you send THERE, or else I'll be sure to yell at you <3. As a starting leg-up, you get to choose a starting job, which you will gain a bonus level in from the start. Let me know of your choice at the time you send your sign-up e-mail! The available starting jobs are described below, and all possess different advantages and disadvantages. Choose wisely, though note that you are never limited to just one job! As you gain levels, indeed, you may spread your experience through more than one job, becoming good at many. You also begin with 10 points and 50 Gold.

You may change your choice between now and the start of the competition, but I need to have an initial estimate of who is where.

Note: If you are an RPGamer staff member or the family member of a staff member, you are more than welcome to compete! However, you may not win any "physical" prizes such as games. Cohost opportunities and the like will be available, though!

Defender
Defenders are capable of wielding more powerful armor as job level increases, but gain no special techniques. Defenders can absorb damage more easily from foes and other players with their armour, preventing point loss.
Level 1 Ability: *Equip Lv. 1 Defender-Class Armor*

White Mage
White Mages specialize in gaining spells to cure status ailments and obtain bonus points. Spells have a small Experience cost, however, and may only be used once per day at maximum.
Level 1 Ability: *Poisona* (Relieves "Poison" status- Exp Cost: 2)

Black Mage
Black Mages gain spells that inflict damage on enemies and other competitors using the elements. The spells of a black mage may easily destroy monsters, but they have an Experience cost, and may only be used once per day at maximum.
Level 1 Ability: *Fire* (Causes 10-15 points of Fire Damage to another competitor or to a monster's HP- Exp Cost: 2)

I'm looking forward to hearing from you with your choice! There are many other things to be revealed- like today's tidbit, featured below:

-------------------SOCK TWO 101
-------------------

Actions and Turns

Here are some important notes for you to consider in order to refine your strategies! This will be replaced by the official rule guide, once it's actually finished. For now, sit down and join in today's class!

You CAN try to cast a spell if you might have enough experience to by the end of the day.

Yeah, this is a bit of a weird issue, but it's best to get it resolved. I've changed my mind since the other day, when I ran the beta. IF you're a mage, and your spellcasting finger is feeling itchy, you can try casting a spell even if you don't have sufficient Experience to do so, if you think you'll have enough after answering the day's questions. For example, many of you had 0 Experience, but the spell of Fire required 2. It is legal, then, to have an action of "I want to cast Fire on ____ if I have enough experience to do so after answering questions." It's also legal to do more complicated things, like "If I have enough experience, I want to cast Fire. If I don't, I want to attack ___ with my bare hands." Remember that it's your responsibility to keep track of your obtained experience, but if you ever want an update, just ask me. Gold and Exp are kept private so that no one goes on a killing spree for fun, you see. Oh, and if you don't have enough Experience but try to cast something anyway, it will fail. Too bad for you.

If another contestant kills you, no, they do not get half of ALL the experience you have ever acquired.

That would be a bit draconian, wouldn't it? No- when you level up, your experience points are reset to zero. Or rather, the excess points you would have had. For instance, suppose you have 45 Experience and you gain a level at 50. Then, if you kill an enemy that gives you 14 Experience points, you'll be in Level 2 with 9 Experience points only to your name. Then, if Boojum comes along and goes BROWR and kills you, he'll only gain 4 Exp from doing so... at your loss, of course.

Everyone starts out with 10 Points, 50 Gold, and no Experience.

Yeah. That means that mages are powerless until they scrape together some Experience, which will make things tougher in the start, for sure. The occasional question will be worth Experience, though; make SURE you get these right! You can actually see everybody's points, but you can't see anything else. You should keep track of your Exp and Gold, and check back with me from time to time to make sure we're on the same page. Good good?

Points are not the same as Experience!

Nay, "points" determine your rank and your health. If your points fall to zero, you lose half your gold and experience to the contestant who killed you. You can spend points on rare items, but that will leave you open to attack! Experience is for gaining levels. Once you've obtained enough experience, you'll level up and gain a rank in the job rank of your choice. Hopefully that clears things up.

No, you're not equipped with anything. You're NAKED!

Yep, buck naked. You can still attack monsters or each other (and many of you did) unequipped. Your base damage when doing so is 2, though that may increase as you gain levels. If you want something better, you're gonna have to pay up by going shopping!

If you want to attack something that's already defeated...

What happens? Well, this is SO much more technologically advanced than the old days. If an enemy is defeated before you get around to it, your attack gets automatically directed to the leftmost enemy on the battle screen, unless you give me explicit directions otherwise.

Actions

Each day, you can perform one action. Not everything takes up this action, though, so you can do multiple things every day, as long as you choose them correctly. I don't think I was totally clear here, so here's a mini-table:

Command

Actions Taken Up

Attacking a Contestant

1

Attacking an Enemy

1

Casting a Spell

1

Using an Item

1

Unlimited Shopping

1

Equipping Items

0 (only once per day, though)

Discarding Items

0

Creating/Joining a Guild

0

The list is nonexhaustive, but you get the picture. If you ever do something illegal, I'll let you know, and you'll do "as much as you can" in the order that you tell me. If you're really not sure, just contact me by e-mail!

Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions or comments, please let me know. I'll reset the scoreboard...eventually, but don't worry about it for now. I appreciate your input!